Novikov Dmitry Pavlovich – Ph.D. in Political Sciences, Associate Professor, Deputy Head of the Department of International Relations, Faculty of World Economy and World Politics, National Research University «Higher School of Economics». Lolaev Alan Iosifovich – Ph.D. Student, Faculty of World Economy and World Politics, National Research University «Higher School of Economics».
The article is devoted to a specific aspect of the development of parliamentary democracies – participation of the parliament in the development and implementation of foreign policy. It is traditionally believed that political representation through parliamentary institutions allows a democratic government to pursue a more balanced and fair policy both at home and abroad. Idealistic ideas about liberal parliamentary democracies became the basis of the theory of democratic peace, which assumed peaceful nature of the foreign policy of states. The experience of the United States to a certain extent refutes these assumptions. Over the past decades, the foreign policy role of the Congress has been declining, and the primacy of the executive branch in foreign policy has contributed to a very aggressive foreign policy line. After coming to power in the United States of the Trump administration (2017), the influence of Congress on foreign policy process increased, but this did not lead to a decrease in offensive policy, but to its consolidation: on a number of key issues, Congress has taken more aggressive position than the administration. Thus, it is possible to question the established postulates about the «peacefulness» of the parliament in liberal democratic systems. The article analyzes historical evolution of the role of the US Congress in foreign policy and changing of its role under the D. Trump administration.
liberal democracies, US Congress, US foreign policy, US domestic policy, protectionism, Donald Trump
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